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Books About Divorce & Family Change

Stories about divorce, separation, and blended families — helping kids understand that family changes are not their fault.

186 books

This collection of 186 books about divorce & family change spans Grade 1–9. Reading level alone doesn't tell parents whether a book is right for a child — text difficulty and emotional weight grow at different rates, especially for gifted, twice-exceptional, or sensitive readers. HootRated rates every book on this list for both, so you can match to your child's actual readiness on both axes.

Across this list, 25% of titles are rated Gentle or Mild — appropriate for sensitive readers or kids reading ahead of their emotional comfort zone. 4% are rated Intense or Very Intense, with heavier thematic territory for readers ready to tackle weighty subjects. Average content intensity for the list is 2.8/5.

Use the intensity badges (color-coded green → red) to filter by emotional readiness rather than just age. For more on what each intensity level means, see our rating methodology.

Cover of Crispin and the 3 Little Piglets

Crispin and the 3 Little Piglets

Ted Dewan

G2 6C
Cover of Frozen

Frozen

Elle D. Risco

G2 6IE
Cover of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

Hourly History

G2 7ME
Cover of Love in the Library

Love in the Library

Maggie Tokuda-Hall

G2 7ME
Cover of Kyle's Little Sister

Kyle's Little Sister

BonHyung Jeong

G2 7LE
Cover of The Storm in the Barn

The Storm in the Barn

Unknown

G2 7ME
Cover of The First Brothers

The First Brothers

Joan E. Curren

G3 7LP
Cover of O Little Town (Hopes and Dreams, the Germans)

O Little Town (Hopes and Dreams, the Germans)

Tana Reiff

G3 7LP
Cover of Everett Anderson's 1-2-3

Everett Anderson's 1-2-3

Lucille Clifton

G3 7LE
Cover of Karen's Two Families

Karen's Two Families

Ann M. Martin

G3 7LE
Cover of Almost home

Almost home

Joan Bauer

G3 8ME
Cover of Bookclub Presenter

Bookclub Presenter

Marilyn Herbert, Samantha Bailey

G3 8ME
Cover of Broken Chains (Uptown Downtown Series)

Broken Chains (Uptown Downtown Series)

Fearon

G3 8ME
Cover of Karen's stepmother

Karen's stepmother

Ann M. Martin

G3 8LE
Cover of Tall Tales

Tall Tales

Karen Day

G3 8ME
Cover of Karen's turkey day

Karen's turkey day

Ann M. Martin

G3 8LP
Cover of Looking for Dad

Looking for Dad

Ellen Frances

G3 8LE
Cover of Mary Anne Breaks the Rules

Mary Anne Breaks the Rules

Ann M. Martin

G3 8LE
Cover of Paula Danziger's Amber Brown is On the Move

Paula Danziger's Amber Brown is On the Move

Bruce Coville, Paula Danziger, Elizabeth Levy

G4 8LE
Cover of Tomboy : a graphic memoir

Tomboy : a graphic memoir

Liz Prince

G4 8ME
Cover of The many troubles of Andy Russell

The many troubles of Andy Russell

David A. Adler

G4 8LN
Cover of Mary Anne to the rescue

Mary Anne to the rescue

Ann M. Martin

G4 8LE
Cover of Our Canadian Girl Penelope #2 the Glass Castle

Our Canadian Girl Penelope #2 the Glass Castle

Sharon E Mckay

G4 8ME
Cover of Popularity Paper Vol. 4

Popularity Paper Vol. 4

Amy Ignatow

G4 8LE
Cover of Three against the tide

Three against the tide

D. Anne Love

G4 8ME
Cover of I remember the Alamo

I remember the Alamo

D. Anne Love

G4 8MP
Cover of Kate

Kate

Jean Little

G4 8ME
Cover of Little Miss Strange

Little Miss Strange

Joanna Rose

G4 8IE
Cover of Ghetto cowboy

Ghetto cowboy

Greg Neri

G4 9ME
Cover of One true way

One true way

Shannon Hitchcock

G4 9ME
Cover of Poor Mallory! (The Baby-Sitters Club #39)

Poor Mallory! (The Baby-Sitters Club #39)

Ann M. Martin

G4 9ME
Cover of Pure Spring

Pure Spring

Brian Doyle

G4 9ME
Cover of Sara lost and found

Sara lost and found

Virginia Castleman

G4 9ME
Cover of Thief Girl

Thief Girl

Ingrid Lee

G4 9ME
Cover of Zoli's Legacy

Zoli's Legacy

Dawn L. Watkins

G4 9MS
Cover of Gaby, lost and found

Gaby, lost and found

Angela Cervantes

G4 9ME
Cover of Little women

Little women

Mary Sebag-Montefiore

G4 9LE
Cover of Chasing the Milky Way

Chasing the Milky Way

Erin E. Moulton

G4 9ME
Cover of Epileptic

Epileptic

David B.

G4 9IE
Cover of Slant

Slant

Laura E. Williams

G4 9ME
Cover of After the ashes

After the ashes

Sara K. Joiner

G4 9ME
Cover of Dear America:My Heart is on the Ground: the Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880

Dear America:My Heart is on the Ground: the Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880

Ann Rinaldi

G4 9ME
Cover of Drugs (Understanding Issues)

Drugs (Understanding Issues)

Gail Stewart

G4 9MS
Cover of Treasured Thief

Treasured Thief

Ryan Foley

G4 9LP
Cover of Understanding Issues - Divorce (Understanding Issues)

Understanding Issues - Divorce (Understanding Issues)

Gail B. Stewart

G4 9ME
Cover of Wait for me

Wait for me

An Na

G4 9LE
Cover of A dog called Homeless

A dog called Homeless

Sarah Lean

G4 9ME
Cover of Farewell, Dawn

Farewell, Dawn

Ann M. Martin

G4 9LE
Cover of In my father's house

In my father's house

Ann Rinaldi

G4 9ME
Cover of Mustang Flats

Mustang Flats

G. Clifton Wisler

G4 9ME
Cover of Adrian and the Tree of Secrets

Adrian and the Tree of Secrets

Hubert

G5 9ME
Cover of BIRD; TRANS. BY JENNY WANG MEDINA.

BIRD; TRANS. BY JENNY WANG MEDINA.

CHONG-HUI O

G5 9ME
Cover of Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie

Kate DiCamillo

G5 9LE
Cover of Becky's brainstorm

Becky's brainstorm

Elaine L. Schulte

G5 9LP
Cover of Children and HIV/AIDS

Children and HIV/AIDS

Gary R. Anderson

G5 9ME
Cover of Dear Canada: Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, Guelph, Ontario, 1897

Dear Canada: Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, Guelph, Ontario, 1897

Jean Little

G5 9LE
Cover of Early Sunday Morning

Early Sunday Morning

Barry Denenberg

G5 9ME
Cover of Goodbye Marianne (Flyways)

Goodbye Marianne (Flyways)

Irene N. Watts

G5 9ME
Cover of How it feels to have a gay or lesbian parent

How it feels to have a gay or lesbian parent

Judith E. Snow

G5 9ME
Cover of Jo's story

Jo's story

Susan Beth Pfeffer

G5 9LE
Cover of Little Women

Little Women

Deanna McFadden

G5 9LE
Cover of Nowhere to Hide

Nowhere to Hide

Kim Sigafus

G5 9ME
Cover of Pieces of the picture

Pieces of the picture

Barbara M. Joosse

G5 9ME
Cover of Reena

Reena

Manjit Virk

G5 9ME
Cover of So Far Bamboo Grove Related Readings Gr7 (The Glencoe literature library)

So Far Bamboo Grove Related Readings Gr7 (The Glencoe literature library)

GLENCOE

G5 9ME
Cover of The Night Swimmers

The Night Swimmers

Betsy Byars

G5 9ME
Cover of The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Mark Twain, Samuel Langhorne Clemens

G5 9MS
Cover of Until the End of Summer

Until the End of Summer

Elizabeth Ogilvie

G5 9ME
Cover of Whispers in the Graveyard

Whispers in the Graveyard

Theresa Breslin

G5 9ME
Cover of A boy called Bat

A boy called Bat

Elana K. Arnold

G5 9C
Cover of Have I found a gold mine?

Have I found a gold mine?

Priscilla Galloway

G5 9LP
Cover of The Cat King of Havana

The Cat King of Havana

Toms Kreicbergs

G5 9ME
Cover of The war between the classes

The war between the classes

Gloria D. Miklowitz

G5 9ME
Cover of All that glitters

All that glitters

Laura Dower

G5 9LE
Cover of Leaving Glorytown

Leaving Glorytown

Eduardo F. Calcines

G5 9ME
Cover of Little women

Little women

Louisa May Alcott

G5 9LE
Cover of Lost and found

Lost and found

Anne E. Schraff

G5 9LE
Cover of The summer I wasn't me

The summer I wasn't me

Jessica Verdi

G5 9ME
Cover of Whatever happened to Janie?

Whatever happened to Janie?

Caroline B. Cooney

G5 9ME
Cover of Anne Hutchinson

Anne Hutchinson

Elizabeth Raum

G5 9LE
Cover of The Desperate Search (An American Adventure, Book 2)

The Desperate Search (An American Adventure, Book 2)

Lee Roddy

G5 9ME
Cover of The air down here

The air down here

Gil C. Alicea

G5 9ME
Cover of The pants project

The pants project

Cat Clarke

G5 9LE
Cover of What Janie found

What Janie found

Caroline B. Cooney

G5 9ME
Cover of Children of exile

Children of exile

Margaret Peterson Haddix

G5 9LE
Cover of Never missing, never found

Never missing, never found

Amanda Panitch

G5 9IE
Cover of Okay for now

Okay for now

Gary D. Schmidt

G5 9ME
Cover of Sins of the father

Sins of the father

Norah McClintock

G5 9ME
Cover of The secret garden

The secret garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett

G5 9ME
Cover of The secret life of Prince Charming

The secret life of Prince Charming

Deb Caletti

G5 9ME
Cover of Treasure Hunters

Treasure Hunters

James Patterson

G5 9LP
Cover of Matilda

Matilda

Roald Dahl

G5 10ME
Cover of My lost and found life

My lost and found life

Melodie Bowsher

G5 10ME
Cover of When the World Turned Upside Down

When the World Turned Upside Down

K. Ibura

G5 10ME
Cover of American Betiya

American Betiya

Anuradha D. Rajurkar

G5 10ME
Cover of Diamonds in the shadow

Diamonds in the shadow

Caroline B. Cooney

G5 10ME
Cover of Dust

Dust

Christine Bongers

G5 10IE
Cover of Highland mercies

Highland mercies

Gary E. Parker

G5 10ME
Cover of Romeo blue

Romeo blue

Phoebe Stone

G5 10LP
Cover of Unbound

Unbound

Ann E. Burg

G5 10ME
Cover of What they found

What they found

Walter Dean Myers

G5 10LE
Cover of Prince William

Prince William

Tamara L. Britton

G5 10ME
Cover of Ramona and her father

Ramona and her father

Beverly Cleary

G5 10ME
Cover of Sins of the Fathers

Sins of the Fathers

Chris Lynch

G5 10ME
Cover of The emperor of any place

The emperor of any place

Tim Wynne-Jones

G5 10ME
Cover of Prince William

Prince William

Elaine Landau

G5 10ME
Cover of The beginning of after

The beginning of after

Jennifer Castle

G5 10ME
Cover of The long winter

The long winter

Laura Ingalls Wilder

G5 10LE
Cover of Little house in Brookfield

Little house in Brookfield

Maria D. Wilkes

G5 10LE
Cover of On Top Of Concord Hill

On Top Of Concord Hill

Maria D. Wilkes

G5 10ME
Cover of Have a nice day

Have a nice day

Julie Halpern

G6 10ME
Cover of Lady J (Drama High)

Lady J (Drama High)

L. Divine

G6 10ME
Cover of Otherwise known as Possum

Otherwise known as Possum

Maria D. Laso

G6 10LE
Cover of Sally Hemings

Sally Hemings

Frances E. Ruffin

G6 10LE
Cover of Braving the fire

Braving the fire

John B. Severance

G6 10MP
Cover of Cat running

Cat running

Zilpha Keatley Snyder

G6 10ME
Cover of Influenced

Influenced

Sarah Darer Littman, Cindy L Otis

G6 10ME
Cover of Let the circle be unbroken

Let the circle be unbroken

Mildred D. Taylor

G6 10ME
Cover of Roll of thunder, hear my cry

Roll of thunder, hear my cry

Mildred D. Taylor

G6 10ME
Cover of A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night

A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night

Song Nan Zhang

G6 10ME
Cover of Romeo's Ex

Romeo's Ex

Lisa Fiedler

G6 10LS
Cover of Crowfeather's trial

Crowfeather's trial

Erin Hunter

G6 10LP
Cover of Prince William

Prince William

Kristin McCracken

G6 10ME
Cover of The Wednesday wars

The Wednesday wars

Gary D. Schmidt

G6 10ME
Cover of Across Five Aprils

Across Five Aprils

Irene Hunt

G6 11ME
Cover of Alis

Alis

Naomi Rich

G6 11ME
Cover of Amil and the After

Amil and the After

Veera Hiranandani

G6 11ME
Cover of Clara Callan

Clara Callan

Richard Bruce Wright

G6 11ME
Cover of Covenant

Covenant

Abraham Verghese

G6 11ME
Cover of Dream on, Amber (reissue)

Dream on, Amber (reissue)

Emma Shevah

G6 11LE
Cover of Education, Exclusion and Citizenship

Education, Exclusion and Citizenship

Carl Parsons

G6 11ME
Cover of Emily for Real

Emily for Real

Sylvia Gunnery

G6 11ME
Cover of Eyes

Eyes

Sakae Tsuboi

G6 11ME
Cover of Families Without Fathers

Families Without Fathers

David Popenoe

G6 11ME
Cover of Kendra

Kendra

Coe Booth

G6 11ME
Cover of Little Cricket

Little Cricket

Jackie Brown

G6 11ME
Cover of Mourning a Father Lost

Mourning a Father Lost

Avraham Balaban

G6 11ME
Cover of Mukhtar's Children

Mukhtar's Children

Sally Watson

G6 11ME
Cover of Outsider Kids

Outsider Kids

Betty C. Tang

G6 11ME
Cover of Places We Sleep

Places We Sleep

Caroline DuBois

G6 11IE
Cover of Secret World of Sex

Secret World of Sex

Steve Humphries

G6 11ME
Cover of Seed Time (Signature)

Seed Time (Signature)

Nick Manns

G6 11ME
Cover of Sorta Sisters

Sorta Sisters

Adrian Fogelin

G6 11ME
Cover of Subject to Change

Subject to Change

Karen Nesbitt

G6 11ME
Cover of The Legacy

The Legacy

Lurlene Mcdaniel

G6 11ME
Cover of The Magic Fish

The Magic Fish

Trung Le Nguyen

G6 11ME
Cover of The Stone Goddess

The Stone Goddess

Minfong Ho

G6 11ME
Cover of The dream of water

The dream of water

Kyoko Mori

G6 11ME
Cover of The pull of gravity

The pull of gravity

Gae Polisner

G6 11ME
Cover of Walking on Air

Walking on Air

Kelly Easton

G6 11ME
Cover of Wandering Souls

Wandering Souls

Cecile Pin

G6 11IE
Cover of Youth in cities

Youth in cities

Marta Tienda, William Julius Wilson

G6 11ME
Cover of China's son

China's son

Chen, Da

G6 11ME
Cover of Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Katherine E. Krohn

G6 11ME
Cover of Coping with interracial dating

Coping with interracial dating

Renea D. Nash

G6 11ME
Cover of Mary, Bloody Mary

Mary, Bloody Mary

Carolyn Meyer

G6 11ME
Cover of Stones For My Father

Stones For My Father

Trilby Kent

G6 11ME
Cover of The House of Djinn

The House of Djinn

Suzanne Fisher Staples

G7 11ME
Cover of I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blindsind and beyond

I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blindsind and beyond

Michael Oher, Don Yaeger

G7 11ME
Cover of A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

G7 12IE
Cover of Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables

Lucy Maud Montgomery

G7 12LN
Cover of Belonging

Belonging

Michelle Miller

G7 12ME
Cover of Bindi

Bindi

Paul Matthew Maisano

G7 12ME
Cover of Esperanza rising

Esperanza rising

Pam Muñoz Ryan

G7 12ME
Cover of Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

G7 12IE
Cover of Mending Horses

Mending Horses

M. P. Barker

G7 12ME
Cover of Social Intercourse

Social Intercourse

Greg Howard

G7 12LE
Cover of Supernormal

Supernormal

Meg Jay

G7 12ME
Cover of Coping as a biracial/biethnic teen

Coping as a biracial/biethnic teen

Renea D. Nash

G7 12LE
Cover of This side of paradise

This side of paradise

F. Scott Fitzgerald

G7 12ME
Cover of Washington Square

Washington Square

Henry James

G7 12ME
Cover of Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott

Karen Clemens Warrick

G7 12LE
Cover of City of Strangers

City of Strangers

Robert Barnard

G8 12ME
Cover of The Beautiful and Damned

The Beautiful and Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald

G8 12ME
Cover of Shirley Temple Black

Shirley Temple Black

Jean F. Blashfield

G8 12LE
Cover of America Pathways to the Present

America Pathways to the Present

Andrew Robert Lee Cayton

G8 12ME
Cover of Indivisible

Indivisible

Daniel Aleman

G8 12ME
Cover of Katz-Cohen

Katz-Cohen

Samuel Astrachan

G8 12ME
Cover of Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

G8 12ME
Cover of The Bee Gees

The Bee Gees

Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes

G8 12ME
Cover of White Gardenia

White Gardenia

Belinda Alexandra

G8 12ME
Cover of Everything You Need to Know About Custody

Everything You Need to Know About Custody

Claudia B. Manley

G8 12ME
Cover of Flags in the dust

Flags in the dust

William Faulkner

G8 12ME
Cover of Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Hull

G9 12ME
Cover of Tobey Maguire

Tobey Maguire

John F. Wukovits

G9 12LE
Cover of Coping with schizophrenia

Coping with schizophrenia

Evelyn B. Kelly

G9 12ME

Questions parents ask about this list

What's on this books about divorce & family change list?
Books About Divorce & Family Change contains 186 books spanning Grade 1–9. Stories about divorce, separation, and blended families — helping kids understand that family changes are not their fault. Every book on the list is rated for reading level and content intensity so you can pick what matches your child.
What age range is appropriate for this list?
Books on this list span Grade 1–9. 47 books (25%) are rated Gentle or Mild; 7 (4%) are rated Intense or Very Intense. Average intensity is 2.8/5. Match the intensity badge to your child's emotional readiness.
How is this list curated?
HootRated rates every book on this list for both reading level (text difficulty) and content intensity (emotional weight) — the two axes parents need to choose books. See our methodology for how books make a curated list.